It is generally accepted that certain types of microorganisms may positively affect the health of a human or an animal, when administered through oral intake. Examples of such microorganisms are probiotics. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. Lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria are the most common types of microbes used as probiotics; but certain yeasts and bacilli may also be helpful. Probiotics are commonly consumed as part of fermented foods with specially added active live cultures; such as in yogurt, soy yogurt, or as dietary supplements.
However, since probiotics confer their effect by being viable during intake, it may be an obstacle to obtain high enough concentrations of viable probiotics (cell forming units; CFU), which are stable over a longer period of time, for example when stored before consumption.
When stored in a liquid state, such as in yoghurt, probiotics may not be viable for long periods of time. In addition, when stored in a liquid state it may be necessary to keep the products cooled which may be problematic and costly and due to the presence of liquid in the product it requires more room for storage. When stored in a dry state it may be difficult to control the exact concentration (CFU) of the probiotics.
Thus, several problems with the current technology relating to probiotics exist, which may be overcome with the present invention.
Merrin et al. discloses printing of different strain of genetically modified E. coli bacteria on flat surfaces such as glass plates, agar plates and nitrocellulose sheets using inkjet printers (Merrin et al. Printing Multistrain Bacterial Patterns with a Piezoelectric Inkjet Printer, PLoS ONE, Jul. 25, 2007).
Xu et al. discloses printing of E. coli directly onto agar-coated substrates using commercial ink-jet printers. (Xu et al. Construction of high-density bacterial colony arrays and patterns by the ink-jet method, Biotechnol Bioeng., Jan. 5, 2004.
Thus, there is a need for an edible product, capable of dosing a desirable amount of microorganisms to a consumer and at the same time provide an improved stability of the product and improved viability of the microorganisms present in the product.